1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding apparatus for a dual slide type portable communication device. More particularly, the present invention relates to portable communication devices having a structure in which two housings are slid relative to each other while continuously facing each other, and ways to reduce the thickness of the two housings themselves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable communication devices generally refer to devices that provide wireless communication between users or between a user and a service provider through a communication devices that are able to be transported while operating. Portable communication devices, in particular more recently developed devices of which also provide a plurality of different types of service contents such as voice communication services, transmission of text messages, mobile banking, watching TV, listening to music, online gaming, and video on demand (VoD) to a user.
Portable communication devices are typically classified into: 1) bar type terminals in which input/output units such as a communication circuit, a transmitter, and a receiver are carried by one housing; 2) flip type terminals in which a flip cover is installed in a bar type terminal; 3) and folder type terminals which are opened or closed when a pair of housings are pivoted and in which input/output units are distributed in the housings. In recent years, slide-type terminals have been in the process of being developed together with folder type terminals in order to satisfy various needs of users while improving portability and convenience for use.
Although mobile communication services were once limited to voice communications and text messages at the beginning of the development of portable communication devices, the field of use of such devices are being expanded to include transmission of games, music, moving image files, online gaming, and multimedia services, just to name a few examples of new services.
The variety of mobile communication service contents acts to vary functions of portable communication devices in conjunction with the variety of designs of portable communication devices. Therefore, input/output devices by which various functions can be sufficiently utilized are added to portable communication devices.
However, since most conventional slide-type portable communication devices have a structure in which two housings are slid relative to each other while continuously facing each other, the overall thickness of such terminals becomes larger due to the thicknesses of the two housings themselves, making a low profile very difficult to achieve.
In order to solve the above-discussed problem, a dual slide-type portable communication device is disclosed in detail in Korean Patent No. 616197.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional dual slide-type portable communication device 10 includes a body housing 20, and a sliding housing 30 coupled to the body housing 20 such that the sliding housing 30 can be slid in a lengthwise (longitudinal) direction thereof and in a (transverse) direction of the body housing 20 substantially perpendicular to the lengthwise direction. A sliding module 40 of the dual slide-type portable communication device includes a base member 41 coupled to the body housing 20, a first sliding member 42 stacked on the base member 41 and configured for sliding the sliding housing 30 from the body housing 20 in a lengthwise direction thereof, and a second sliding member 43 stacked on the first sliding member 42, coupled to the sliding housing 30, and configured to slide the sliding housing 30 from the body housing 20 in a direction thereof substantially perpendicular to the lengthwise direction.
The sliding housing 30 includes the upper and lower housings 31 and 32.
However, the conventional dual slide-type portable communication device sometimes malfunctions due to the sliding movement of the sliding housing 30 in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the body housing when the sliding housing is slid in a lengthwise direction of the body housing or due to sliding movement of the sliding housing in a longitudinal direction of the body housing when the sliding housing is slid in a direction substantially perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the body housing
When a separate locking unit is mounted to the sliding apparatus of the dual slide-type portable communication device in order to solve the above-described problem, the thickness of the sliding module becomes larger, making it difficult for the portable communication device to have a small size and a low profile and increasing the number of assembling processes and manufacturing costs due to increase in the number of parts.
Therefore, there is a need for a locking unit that prevents movement of a sliding housing in a direction substantially perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of a body housing when the sliding housing is slid in a direction lengthwise direction of the body housing, and to prevent movement of the sliding housing in a lengthwise direction of the body housing when the sliding housing is slid in a direction substantially perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the body housing.